Northern Beaches Hospital: Probe ordered into ‘safe staffing’ and performance levels

The troubled Northern Beaches Hospital is set to go under the microscope as two probes have been ordered into its performance and nurse to patient staffing levels.

Northern Beaches Hospital at Frenchs Forest is now the focus of two probes amid concerns abut staffing levels and overall performance. (AAP IMAGE – Troy Snook)

A “safe staffing” inquiry has been ordered into the number of nurses per patients at the troubled Northern Beaches Hospital.

The probe by NSW Health’s Safe Staffing Levels Taskforce will examine whether the hospital at Frenchs Forest meets minimum staffing levels for nurses and midwives in public hospitals.

As part of a public-private partnership, negotiated by the previous Coalition state government, NSW Health pays company Healthscope $600 million per year, for 250 beds, to enable public patients to attend its privately run hospital.

Healthscope is responsible for providing publicly-funded health services at Northern Beaches Hospital until October 2038.

The staffing inquiry comes as the independent NSW Audit Office confirmed that it had started a “performance audit” to examine whether the hospital was “delivering publicly-funded health services transparently, efficiently and effectively”.

A nurse in the intensive care unit at Northern Beaches Hospital. There are concerns that staff are being stretched to the limit. Picture Chris Pavlich

Both probes come after intense lobbying, led by the independent State MP for Wakehurst, Michael Regan, for the government to ensure that the northern beaches was receiving proper frontline public health services.

Mr Regan said he pushed for the hospital’s performance, across all departments, to be examined after community concerns with recent cuts to mental health beds, emergency department waiting times and “unacceptable pressure on staff”.

“Doctor and nurse representatives say there are not enough staff employed by Northern Beaches Hospital to cover rosters, that new staff lack experience and that staff turnover is too high,” he told NSW parliament.

Michael Regan, the independent State MP for Wakehurst, has been lobbying for the hospital to be examined ti make sure it is offering proper public health services to the northern beaches. Picture: Facebook (Michael Regan MP)

“Since June 2023, there have been a number of staff cuts, including reductions in the number of Emergency Department nurses, security guards and nurses in mental health wards.

“I was angry to hear that the results of a recent workplace survey found that one in two nurses and midwives at Northern Beaches Hospital were described as being in high or very high states of psychological distress at work.

“There are also many reports of the excellent care provided by healthcare professionals doing their best, and I thank every one of them.”

Mr Regan said on Tuesday that he was constantly “bombarded by stories” by hospital staff, the nurses’ union and Wakehurst residents about issues at the facility.

Health Minister Ryan Park told parliament that it was “very important for people to understand” that Healthscope ran the hospital.

Northern Beaches Hospital has been the focus of community concerns. (AAP IMAGE / Troy Snook)

“But Healthscope must continue to ensure that staffing is adequate there.

“I will ask the taskforce looking at the rollout of the ratio‑based model of state staffing to have a look at the Northern Beaches Hospital to assess what we can do in that space.”

The two probes also come after it was reported that financial issues had placed some doubt over the hospital’s future operation.

In documents filed to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the SMH reported, Healthscope said it expected the company would be able to pay its debts but “significant doubt” would be cast over its ability to do so if it failed to improve its performance and generate enough revenue from its hospitals.

Healthscope said in a statement that its “absolute priority is providing high quality and safe clinical care for patients in our hospitals”.

“We are taking actions to address underfunding now, to be able to maintain the highest standards of care into the future.”